Coach calls on host Vipers to play over their heads
For the SaskValley Vipers, it’s plain and simple.
To achieve, you must overachieve. That’s the word from Vipers head coach Shaun Priel, who is staying realistic going into this week’s Western Canadian bantam AAA hockey championship as the host team.
“I’ve been kind of pushing that to the kids, that they’re going to have to play, as a man, over their heads so they can have a chance at winning games,” said Priel, whose team plays its first game of the tournament Thursday night at 7 p.m. against the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers at the Legends Centre in Warman.
“They’re hearing the message. If they don’t, there could be some lessons early. I’m hoping they’re going to have the mindset to be better than their (previous) best, to have a chance to compete against these guys.”
Joining the host Vipers and Alberta champion Fort Saskatchewan in the five-team tournament are the British Columbia champion Burnaby Winter Club (BWC) Bruins, Manitoba champion Winnipeg Monarchs and Saskatchewan champion Swift Current Broncos.
The tournament begins at noon with Fort Saskatchewan playing Swift Current, followed by a game between BWC and Winnipeg at 3 p.m.
The host Vipers finished as Saskatchewan runners-up to Swift Current, advancing to the provincial final by winning the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League’s north division over the Saskatoon Maniacs.
“We’re excited,” said Priel, who is making his third appearance at Westerns after taking the Warman Wildcats there twice.
“Obviously, our goal, since Day 1, was to go through the front door and try and win the province and be the Saskatchewan rep for the tournament, but we came up a couple of wins short at the end.
“I’ve been to the tournament a couple of times in the past as coach and recognize that there are some really good teams that come. When you have the best from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, you’re going to be in tough. You’ve got to play really well.”
Priel points out the teams outside of Saskatchewan are AAA level, not AA.
“They have to compete harder than we do in Saskatchewan,” Priel said. “They’re on a different level because they’re used to battling at that higher level. Our kids take a while to get used to it. We went to Medicine Hat earlier in the season and we saw some of the top-end teams out there, and we saw the pace we have to play at.”
The Vipers got off to a slow start this season — an early injury to their top player, Josh Pillar, was a major setback — but finished strongly, compiling an 18-8-2 record. The squad is made up mostly of players from Warman and Martensville, but also from other towns in the area.
“We had a lot of kids come from different places, and once they got to understand how I wanted them to play and they stopped thinking with their brains and started thinking with their feet, they got fast,” said Priel. “Once you’re fast, and do the jobs you’re able to do without thinking with your brains, you’re going to be able to move faster.”
The Vipers plan to rotate goalies Matt Hennessey and Brodie Guenther. On the back end, senior Dmen Austin Tkachuk, Chase Taggert and Dylan Ashe will be asked to step up and carry the load.
Up front, the Vipers will once again lean on Pillar and linemates Jesse Nash, who returns after being injured for the provincial final, and Ryan Conlan.
“Then we look at the next group of guys to step up,” said Priel. “Keenan Allan’s got to step up. The other kids, as a collective, everybody needs to step up and do more and challenge yourself to be the best that you can.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for them … to have a situation where you can push yourself as much as you can and see what happens.”